We Are Supposedly The Grumpiest Nation In The Western World

Today I was asked to go BBC Radio Leeds to talk about some information that Sleep Cycle, an App for your smartphone, have released. Sleep Cycle have analysed their users to offer us some insight as to how different people in the world sleep. Radio Leeds wanted to discuss why we in the UK are the Grumpiest nation in the Western Hemisphere when we wake up in the morning.

I think the main reason is that we don’t give sleep the respect it deserves and we don’t take the time, particularly in the Pre-Sleep period to wind down properly. We are obsessed by the quantity of sleep we get where we would be better thinking about the quality. My tips so you don’t feel grumpy are:

Give yourself an hour before bed where you don’t use tablets or smartphones. The blue light they omit disrupts the production of melatonin the hormone that helps us sleep. Alternatively use a blue light blocker such as www.sleepshield.com

Watch some comedy on TV- I find comedy is brilliant to help you wind down. It helps us relax and puts us in the right frame of mind to sleep well

Ditch the clock- Clock watching adds to our stress levels and we can find ourselves counting down to the morning. If you bed to use an alarm put the clock out of your eyeline.

Wake up with natural lights-This is the best way to wake up as it brings you into the lightest stage of slee meaning you feel better when you wake. Waking with an alarm can wake you when you are in the deepest stage of sleep meaning you feel groggy and grumpy.

Be positive- research shows if we feel our sleep was good we will feel better during the day

There you go, my thoughts on how not to be grumpy. Let me know what you think!